Kidnapped
by ChelzToddBrooke
Summary: Getting kidnapped was not in Stella's plans for her day off. SMACKED! Sequeal to "Big Day for Taylor men"
1. Chapter 1

**I've been sitting on this story for awhile now... it's the next part in my little Smacked series...it's longer than most...enjoy!**

**I own nothing!**

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**Chapter 1**

There wasn't often a morning Stella didn't find Mac and Aaron together. She smiled as she watched her husband feed their four month old little boy.

"You're going to be late for work," she noted.

"I'll be fine, he's almost done," Mac replied, slowly looking up at her.

"You don't want to miss a minute, do you?" Stella laughed.

"I haven't yet," Mac smiled.

"Hand him over, I'll finish feeding him while you finish getting ready," Stella instructed. Mac reluctantly did as he was told.

"Ok, I'll see you after shift, enjoy your day off," Mac announced as he lightly kissed his wife.

"I plan to," she smirked, knowing he was mildly jealous of the fact she got to spend a whole day alone with Aaron. "I love you," she added.

"I love you too," Mac replied, giving her another kiss and kissing Aaron's head.

"Be safe," Stella called after him.

A couple hours later, Lindsey was returning from a crime scene. Being a woman, she couldn't ignore the baby carrier sitting on the front desk. With its unique camouflage cover, she immediately recognized it to be Aaron's. Knowing Stella had the day off, Lindsey figured she brought him by for a visit, except Stella was nowhere to be found.

"Rachael, why is Aaron on your desk?" Lindsey wondered.

"Stella dropped him off, asked me to watch him until Mac had a chance to come get him," Rachael explained.

"Have you heard from Mac?" Lindsey continued.

"Actually, no, I was going to call him in a few minutes," Rachael mentioned.

"No need, I'll take him upstairs," Lindsey offered, lifting the carrier off the desk. Something didn't feel right about this whole thing. Stella and Mac had a babysitter, if she needed someone to watch Aaron, that's who she called. She had never dropped him off like this before. It made Lindsey very uncomfortable. She needed to find Mac, and fast.

"What, Jake isn't enough for you anymore; you need to steal other people's children?" Danny laughed.

"Shut up Danny, I think something is wrong. Stella just left Aaron at the front desk," Lindsey explained. Danny expression quickly changed to dead serious. "Where's Mac?" she asked.

"Uh, with Adam in DNA," Danny replied.

"Go get him, please," Lindsey instructed. Danny nodded and took off. Lindsey entered Mac's office and set Aaron down on his father's desk. The sweet baby was still sleeping soundly, just as she had found him. God bless him.

"Linds, what's…" Mac started as he sped into his office. "Wait, what's Aaron doing here?" Mac quickly abandoned his first question the second he saw his son on the desk.

"I don't know, I found him at the front desk," Lindsey informed. "Rachael said Stella left him there for you to pick him up," she added.

"I haven't talked to Stella since I left for work this morning," Mac thought out loud. He quickly pulled his phone out and dialed her cell. He was met with her voicemail. Her phone was off. "Something happened," he deduced. Mac paced his office for a few seconds trying to pull some cognitive line of thought together. No matter how hard he tried he came up with nothing. He knew he was beginning to panic and the two sets of staring eyes weren't helping any. As if to make matters worse, Aaron woke with an angry cry. Mac dropped his attempt at thinking and freed his son from the confines of his carrier. "Hey bud, you don't need to cry, Daddy's got you," Mac whispered to the child. When he pulled Aaron to his chest, he noticed a note pinned to his back.

"Lindsey, get some gloves, he's got something pinned to his shirt," Mac directed. Lindsey donned a pair of latex gloves and removed what appeared to be a note from the infant's back.

"It says, 'you're woman is quite the negotiator, if it weren't for her, I'd have your baby too. Keep your phone on you, there's more info to come,'" Lindsey read. Mac looked down into Aaron's carrier. There sat Stella's engagement ring and wedding band. Mac lifted them out and slid them into his pocket.

"Where is she?" he murmured.

"Mac, Stella is smart and strong, she'll come out of this alive," Danny tried to assure his boss. Aaron began fussing again.

"Do you want me to take him?" Lindsey offered.

"No!" Mac snapped, harsher than necessary. "I, I'm sorry, I just want him with me," Mac doubled back.

"I understand, I'll take this note to get processed, I'll let you know what I find," Lindsey was not at all offended by his over protectiveness, she would be the same way in his situation.

"Danny, round everyone up, there's a meeting in my office in ten minutes," Mac ordered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ten minutes later, just as Mac ordered, everyone was huddled into his office. Mac stood behind his desk, casually holding his son, like it was normal from him to be at the office.

"Stella's been taken," Mac stated bluntly. He gauged everyone's reactions before he continued. "We don't know much yet, what we do know is Aaron was dropped off downstairs by Stella probably an hour ago. He was left with a note and Stella's rings," Mac explained. His team looked at him expectantly. Mac in turn looked down at Aaron, sleeping soundly on his shoulder. He ran a hand over the infant's back. "Lindsey is processing the note. Adam, I want you to process Aaron's carrier. Flack, take Hawkes and Danny and see if there's anything at my house," Mac finished tossing his keys to the young detective.

"What do you need me to do?" Angell wondered, being the only one left without an assignment.

"I don't want to go back to my house until things have been processed. I need you to go grab a few things for Aaron. He was not left with his diaper bag. If Stella was taken from home, it might still be there. If not, I need a change of clothes, a couple diapers, and a few bottles with formula, and well…" instead of finishing his sentence, Mac sighed.

"I'll get him what he needs," Angell assured him. "She'll be ok, Mac," she added as she left his office.

To say Stella's head hurt was a massive understatement. She's been hit really hard. However, that wasn't until after she convinced her kidnapper to let her drop off Aaron. The second she exited the lab though, he hit her. She was just barely coming to again. Everything was still very foggy. Although, with just a quick look at her surroundings she could tell wherever she was, was nothing like the dumps they usually pulled hostages out of. She was lying on a bed, an actual bed with pillows and blankets, not just a dirty mattress on a warehouse floor. She rubbed her face with both hands, since her wrists were duct taped together. She could feel a small trickle of blood on her forehead from where she'd been hit. She closed her eyes to shut out the pain. Instantly, she could feel herself slipping out of consciousness again. Before she surrendered completely, she tried to piece a few things together in her mind. She said a silent pray to all things holy that she managed to remove Aaron from the situation. She told her kidnapper Mac would be slowed down by Aaron's presence, so it would only benefit him to leave Aaron with Mac. When he believed her, she realized she been kidnapped by a dumbass. When he let her go into the lab, she shoved a note in the lining of the carrier and dropped in her rings so nothing would happen to them. She knew then she wouldn't go down without a fight. At the rate she was going, she may just be able to walk out before the idiot knew she was missing. However, she had to be able to regain full consciousness first.

"Jess, what are you doing here?" Don asked as his wife pulled up in front of Mac and Stella's house.

"Mac needs a few things for Aaron, have you guys found anything?" Jess replied.

"It looks like she was taken from the garage. The door was up and the door to her Mercedes was open. The diaper bag was in the car," Don informed.

"Is the bag evidence?" she wondered.

"I'm not sure, ask Danny," her husband directed. Angell nodded and went to find Danny.

Angell stopped short when she reached Mac's office. He was lying on the floor next to Aaron, who was sound asleep. He nervously checked his phone.

"You haven't heard anything?" she asked softly. The look he sent her was all the answer she needed.

"What have they found at the house?" Mac wondered.

"They think she was taken from the garage," Angell informed as she set down Aaron's diaper bag. Mac sighed heavily. "I imagine he'll be hungry soon," Angell changed the subject, pointing at Aaron. Mac checked his watch.

"Yeah it's about that time," he agreed. No sooner than he finished his sentence, did Adam rush into the room.

"I think I've got something!" he proclaimed.

"What is it?" Mac wondered, taking his son in his arms and standing up.

"Stella left you a note," Adam provided.

"Adam, what does it say?" Mac all but begged.

"It, it, uh, here, I'll just let you read it," Adam sputtered. Mac reached for the piece of paper. He slowly read the words written in Stella's familiar handwriting.

_Mac-_

_He caught me off guard, I was trying to get Aaron settled down. I'm so sorry. I left my rings because they meant too much to me to allow them to be taken away. We were taken from the garage and he drove a full size sedan. That's all I really know. I love you so much. Take care of yourself and take care of my baby boy. Keep him safe. I WILL see you soon._

_-__Stel_

Mac took a deep breath and handed the note back to Adam. He scooped Aaron into his arms. The baby fussed a little until he was settled again. Somehow it felt a little better to know that she was the one that left the rings behind, but it left him uneasy knowing she was blaming herself. He approached the board where he had started laying out the evidence and made a note about the full size sedan and erased the part about her rings. He could feel both Angell and Adam staring at him.

"Thank you, Adam, let me know if you find anything else," he dismissed the young lab tech. "Jess, do you mind getting a bottle ready for him?" he addressed Angell, somewhat reluctantly, knowing she was a detective not a babysitter.

"It's no problem," Angell replied, pulling what she needed from the diaper bag. She really had no issue helping Mac with Aaron until there was something else she could do to help with the case.

Stella finally surfaced from the depths of her deep sleep again. She had no earthly idea how much time had passed, but she was finally able to keep her eyes open. Unfortunately, the throbbing in her head failed to cease.

"Stella!" an unfamiliar voice called in a sing song manner. "For awhile there, I thought you weren't going to wake up," the man added. Stella noticed it was not the same man who had taken her.

"What the hell do you want?" Stella growled.

"Oh, feisty! I bet big bag Mac Taylor loves that about you," the man replied with a sinister grin.

"Mac is your worst nightmare," Stella warned.

"You actually think he's going to save you?" he laughed. "He couldn't save Claire, what makes you think he can save you, his second wife?" he continued. If Stella's wrists weren't bound, this man would be dead. "Mac Taylor, everybody's hero, can't even save his own wife or well wives for that matter," he finished.

"Shut up, you son of a bitch!" Stella screamed. The man grabbed Stella's wrists and pulled her from the bed. As she got to her feet she kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. The man moaned in pain but didn't release her. He dragged her out of the bedroom and into what appeared to be the kitchen. The man threw her into a chair.

"Listen to me you nasty bitch, you got real lucky that I have an idiot for a brother and he let you drop your baby off. If it were up to me, that baby would be mine and he'd probably be dead by now," the man was getting angry. For a fraction of a second, Stella's resolve broke at the thought of Aaron dying. That was just long enough to amuse her kidnapper. "What do you say we call your knight in shining armor?" he laughed again. He dialed the number and put the call on speaker. As Mac answered, Stella could hear Aaron screaming in the background. As much as it pained her to hear her baby boy upset, she was glad to know he was safe and alive. "Are you too busy to talk, Taylor? It sounds like you have your hands full," the kidnapper teased.

"I'm fine," Mac answered as he handed Aaron off for the first time that day.

"What? Daddy can't calm him down?" the man continued to push Mac's buttons. Mac didn't humor him with an answer.

"Where's Stella?" Mac asked in a curt tone.

"Oh, she's right here next to me," the man replied. "I assume you want her back," he added off handedly. Mac remained silent. Stella was silently begging him to talk, he had no idea how badly she needed to hear his voice right now. "I'll tell you what, I'll let you talk to her, it might be your last chance," the kidnapper laughed. Suddenly, Stella remembered Reed's way of dropping hints when he was being held captive by the Cabbie Killer. "Well go on, speak," the man urged.

"Stella?" Mac's longing was evident in his tone; it caused Stella to wince slightly.

"Mac," Stella addressed him professionally. She didn't want her kidnapper feeding on her emotions. "How's Aaron?" she checked.

"He's just fine," Mac assured her.

"You should take him to that park with the cobblestone road that has the Georgia peach tree in the corner with the Ben Franklin statue. It has that slide that's three stories high," That's all the detail Stella could give him without revealing herself to the kidnapper.

"Ok, I'll do that," Mac replied. "I love you," he added barely above a whisper.

"I love you too," although her voice was void of all emotion, Mac knew she meant it. She simply couldn't show weakness.

"Taylor, information from me is on its way to your office," the kidnapper said before he hit the end button on the phone.

"Isn't that sweet?" he stated with a nauseating grin.

"Who are you trying to hurt, me or Mac?" Stella spit out.

"Aww, can't I have both?" he laughed. Stella rolled her eyes. No sooner that she did, did the kidnapper's hand meet the tender skin of her cheek with a loud smack, jarring her headache back to life in full force. "Don't roll your eyes at me," he growled. Stella looked around; she did not see a weapon. If all he had on her was physical strength, she didn't feel threatened. Stella could fight if she needed to. "Now, if you behave, we're going to have some dinner," he announced. He pulled her bound hands above her head with one hand and reached for the duct tape sitting on the table with the other. He swiftly bound her to the chair with a thick band of tape around her ribcage. It was somewhat thigh, but Stella had no doubt that was his intention. She assumed there would be bruises left behind. He cut the tape at her wrists and dropped her hands on the table. He placed a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of her. "Eat," he demanded, forcing a spoon into her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Mac decided it was time to call another meeting. He had yet to decipher Stella's phone call and now had received the information from the man who had her. He wanted to touch base with everyone and figure out what the plan was once shift ended. He lifted the now awake Aaron out of his carrier and began to make rounds in the lab. This time he gathered everyone in the conference room, having moved the evidence there after the phone call.

"There were no prints on the note," Lindsey announced.

"I didn't find anything else in the carrier either," Adam added.

"We found some foreign prints on Stella's car as well as…" Hawkes stopped briefly, not really wanting to say what else they found. "Um, some blood drops. A few were from Stella but there was also a foreign sample," he finished. Mac's jaw tightened.

"How did the canvas go?" he asked Flack.

"We didn't get a whole lot, one of your neighbors mentioned the full sized sedan in a dark color, but that about all," Flack sighed, knowing he was of little help, just like everyone else.

"I pulled the camera footage from outside the lab and you can see Stella walking in and back out but never the guy who dropped her off," Danny ended the updates. Mac took a deep breath.

"Ok, so the guy called, but gave me nothing. He did let Stella talk to me and it seems apparent she can see things around her because she rambled off a few hints. I want Adam to try and figure out what she was telling us. A packet was dropped off at the front desk. It has a note in it. This guy is not asking for money, he wants something from me and he plans on keeping Stella until he gets it. Lindsey, I want you to compare the two notes for me," Mac instructed.

"What does he want?" Hawkes wondered.

"I don't know, he says we have to figure out who he is first," Mac said sadly. "Anyway, shift is coming to an end here shortly," Mac began again, changing the subject.

"Mac, none of us are leaving until we find her," Danny replied adamantly.

"Some of you have families to get home to," Mac mentioned, his eyes jetting between Flack and Angell and Danny and Lindsey.

"I can go home with Maeli," Angell suggested.

"No, no, you're not going home without me, I'm sorry, I know I sound over protective, but I'm not leaving the two of you alone," Flack objected.

"I don't want Lindsey at home without me either," Danny agreed.

"I can stay, I just have to call Mel," Adam offered.

"I can stay too," Hawkes added.

"Alright, then Adam, Hawkes and I will be here overnight, as soon as the last of the current evidence is processed the rest of you are free to go," Mac announced, dismissing the meeting. Flack and Angell lingered.

"Mac, you need to go home tonight," Angell started. Mac sent her a heated look. "If not for yourself, you need to do it for Aaron. You know how important it is to keep his schedule at this point in his life," Angell continued. Mac only grew angrier. "If you want, we can take him home with us, but I know you don't want him out of your sight," she wouldn't back down.

"I don't want to go back to my house," Mac admitted. He'd never been there without Stella, and that wasn't about to change.

"Come to our apartment, you can stay in the guest room," she invited.

"I'd rather just stay in my office," Mac declined.

"Aaron needs a real place to sleep," Angell argued.

"How about this, when we leave, we take Aaron with us and when you feel you've done all you can here for the day, you come over," Flack stepped in. Mac thought for a moment, he really didn't want Aaron that far away. He couldn't protect him. However, if he trusted anyone with his son's life it would be Flack. "You won't be on top of your game if you don't get some sleep, and Stella needs you at your best," Flack added as one last stitch effort.

"Ok," Mac finally said, conceding defeat.

"Then we're going to go ahead and head out since we're not needed for the night," Angell stated. Mac nodded and went to get Aaron ready to leave.

Stella was still taped to the chair, her hands now taped to the tops of her thighs. She had been forced to finish her soup sometime ago, but now the kidnapper was rambling on and on about something. She had tuned out.

"Who the hell are you?" Stella blurted.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," he sneered.

"That would be why I asked," she remarked sarcastically. That comment earned her another hard smack across the face. She took a deep calming breath to prepare herself for what may come if she planned to continue. "Whatever it is you want, Mac won't let you have it," Stella growled.

"I think differently. Did you forget that I am currently in possession of his wife and the mother of his child? He's like putty in my hands," he laughed. Stella rolled her eyes, and then braced herself for the slap that inevitably came.

"I'm warning you, bitch, push me just a little further," the kidnapper ground out.

"I'm so scared," Stella spit out, again full of sarcasm. She knew she was taking her life in her hands, but she was tried of waiting for the idiot to get his act together. If she was going to be kidnapped, couldn't she at least be kidnapped by someone who knew what they were doing?

"That's it," he decided, violently ripping her hands from her thighs and gripping her wrists in one hand while he cut her from the chair with the other. He pulled her to her feet, and then promptly tripped her, sharply pulling her arms over her head as she fell to her knees. She involuntarily yelped in pain. He forced her back to her feet and twisted her arms behind her back. He smiled to himself as he felt the bone in Stella's right arm snap under the pressure of his twisting grasp. Her strangled cry only amused him more. "I warned you, and to think I was actually going to let you sleep in a bed tonight," he said gruffly, dragging her near limp body towards the hall closet. The pain radiating in thick waves from her wrist forced her to give up the fight for now. The kidnapper tossed her lithe form into dark closet, watching her collapse like a broken tent. He laughed loudly and slammed the door. Stella grabbed her injured wrist in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. When none came, she felt herself slipping into the inky darkness of unconsciousness again.

A few hours later, Adam and Lindsey came to report what they had found from the last bit of evidence.

"I uh, I assume she was trying to tell you the building was three stories tall or she was on the third story, I'm not sure which. Also, I think she listed some street names, but I haven't determined what they are. I have narrowed it down to Georgia, Peach, Franklin, or Ben Franklin in some combination. Also, the street is cobblestone. I will try all combinations and keep you posted," Adam rambled.

"The second note was typed, so I couldn't do any handwriting comparison. It appears the tone of the two notes is different, but that could just be because he wasn't expecting to drop Aaron off. I'm going to let Hawkes try and figure out the clues we have to identify him," Lindsey mentioned. Mac nodded.

"I'm actually leaving for the night, but I will have my phone on, so keep me informed," Mac said to Adam. The young lab tech nodded and headed back to the lab.

As Mac pulled up to the apartment building, things felt all wrong. He should be trying to find her, not trying to get some sleep. However, now there was another person involved, Aaron. Angell was right, at this stage in his life, that child can't have his world turned upside down. He needed to keep things as normal as possible until he got Stella back. When Don let Mac into the apartment, Maeli came flying at him. He caught the little girl before she knocked him over.

"I got to feed Aaron!" she stated excitedly.

"That's great, honey," Mac praised, he couldn't help but smile, despite how awful he felt.

"Alright bug, it's bedtime, let Mac go eat so he can get some sleep too," Don mentioned, lifting his daughter off of Mac.

"o-k" Maeli whined, her face pulling into a pout.

"You know the deal, you could stay up until ten," Don reminded.

"Goodnight sweetheart, thank you for helping with Aaron," Mac said with a soft smile.

"Hey Mac, are you hungry?" Jess asked as she stepped in from the kitchen.

"I guess I could say no, but you'll make me eat anyway," he smirked.

"You are correct, Taylor," Jess smiled. "We have lasagna," she added.

"Then who am I to say no," Mac continued with the banter, the warm atmosphere of the Flack apartment easing his tension a little bit. Jess was not blind to the shift it Mac's mood, but she also knew he could quickly shift back. She set a plate in front of him. She took as seat across from him as he ate. "Is there something I can do for you Jess?" Mac asked as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"I just, uh, how are you doing?" Jess stammered. Don was normally the one to have these conversations with Mac, but he was busy with Maeli at the moment.

"I'm fine, Jess, really," Mac half lied.

"You may be Mac Taylor, but even you can't pull that lie off," Jess chuckled.

"Ok, so I'm not fine and I won't be until we find Stella. I just thought that I could protect her from these kinds of things," he sighed.

"You know you can't do that," Jess mentioned, bravely. She was definitely treading in uncharted waters with this conversation.

"Yes, but things were going so good, we had the family we always wanted," Mac's words died.

"We WILL find her Mac. So far she has been the best at helping us. You need to get some rest and try again in the morning," Jess encouraged. "We've set you up in the guest room, there are towels in there and everything, so make yourself at home," she informed.

"And Aaron is?" Mac wondered.

"Sound asleep in the same room, we set up Maeli's old playpen," Jess explained.

"Thanks for everything," he replied quietly.

As hard as Mac tried, he couldn't fall asleep. His brain would just not shut down; it wasn't like he expected it to. He needed to find Stella. He knew if he could just get out for a jog, he would be able to clear his mind. He also knew that was a bad idea since there was someone after his family. So instead, he paced around the living room, careful to not disturb anyone. Around four AM he finally passed out from pure exhaustion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

At six, Jess and Don started their day. Jess slipped into the guest room to find Mac dead to the world. Jess was glad, he needed the sleep. She knew the previous day had been absolutely grueling for him. Aaron's big blue eyes stared up at her from the play pen.

"Do you want breakfast, little Taylor?" she cooed. The little boy kicked his feet. Jess scooped him out of the play pen and carried him off to the kitchen.

"Can I feed him?" Don begged.

"You are as bad as Maeli," Jess laughed.

"Well, it's not everyday we have a baby around here," Don shrugged.

"Fine, you can feed him," Jess gave in.

"Hi Aaron," Don started as he settled the child in his arms. "I got to hand it to you kid, you're a tough sleeper, because you're daddy didn't sleep at all last night and you didn't wake up once," he added.

"How do you know Mac didn't sleep?" Jess asked as she handed her husband a bottle.

"I heard him pacing around the living room. I didn't sleep my best either last night; I was listening for something, anything," Don admitted. Jess reached over and ran a hand through his hair. She watched him feed the baby.

"This feels like old times," she commented. Don met her eyes.

"I like it," he grinned.

"To be honest, I do too," Jess agreed, wanting to add more, but she was interrupted.

"Mommy?" Maeli's groggy voice called from the edge of the kitchen.

"Good morning, sunshine," Jess smiled, lifting her daughter into her arms. Maeli turned to look at her dad with a confused look on her face, as if she was trying to figure out why he was holding a baby."Aaron and Mac are still here, honey," Jess explained. Maeli nodded and buried her head in her mother's shoulder, a sure sign she was not awake yet. Had she been fully awake, she would have been all over the fact that Aaron and Mac were at the apartment.

"Why aren't they with Stella?" the dreaded question finally came out. Jess and Don were thanking their lucky stars that Mac wasn't around to hear it.

"Baby, she's uh, she's on a little trip," Don lied and cringed as he did so, he hated lying to her, but she didn't need to know what was going on.

An hour later, Mac was still sleeping and Maeli was wide awake, playing with Aaron who was in the playpen that had now been moved to the living room. When her dad wasn't looking, she snuck over to the guest room door and peeked in. Unfortunately she lingered too long and her dad caught her.

"Maeli, I told you to leave him alone! He's still sleeping, now go to your room," Don ordered.

"Don!" Jess scolded in turn. Maeli really hadn't done anything wrong and Don wasn't one to fly off the handle for no reason.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. His nerves were absolutely raw.

"Come on, let's go talk," Jess urged, pushing him towards their bedroom. "What is going on with you? You didn't sleep and now you're yelling at Maeli," she asked bluntly.

"I'm scared Jess, if he can take Stella, he can take you and he could very easily get Maeli, and Stella, she's my friend and I've seen what she's been through and I just can't believe this is happening to her again," Don admitted. Jess took a step towards him and wrapped her arms around his midsection.

"I can't do anything about how you feel about what's happened to Stella, we all know how unfair it is, but what if I called Mel and asked her to watch Maeli and Jake at the lab, because if I know Danny, he's probably having a lot of the same feelings you are," Jess suggested.

"We'd have to ok it with Mac," Don mentioned.

"And you think he's going to say no?" Jess challenged.

"No," Don replied, fighting a smile.

"Now, go talk to Maeli please," Jess prodded. Don nodded and followed her out of the bedroom. They walked into the kitchen to find Mac holding Aaron and talking animatedly between his son and Maeli.

"Daddy, I'm sorry, I'll go back to my room," Maeli spit out quickly as she set eyes on her father, trying to scramble out of the chair she was sitting in.

"No, it's ok, honey, I'm sorry about earlier," Don replied.

"Did she wake you up?" Jess wondered, looking at Mac.

"No, I got a phone call from Adam, he has some information at the lab," Mac answered with a grim smile.

"Good news, I hope," Don added.

"He may have put together Stella's hints from the phone call," Mac announced, looking down at Aaron who had taken his father's hand and shoved one large finger into his tiny mouth, drooling happily.

When Stella raised her hand to brush it over her face, she regretted it immediately. The overwhelming pain brought on flash backs from what she assumed to be the night before. The closet was dark, so she really had no idea if morning had rolled around. Before she could further asses her condition or formulate a new plan of action, the closet door slung open. The bright light shining into the rest of the apartment confirmed her suspicions of morning. The man she had spent the previous day with swooped in and had her wrists taped back together before she could even react.

"Can't have you trying to get away," he said with a sickening grin. Stella wanted to fight back, she wanted to spit a snappy retort at him, but she was too busy trying not to vomit in response to the onslaught of pain the duct tape brought on. He slammed the door on her again, only to return seconds later and throw three bottles of water at her. She winced as they hit her body. "Drink up my dear; I can't have you getting dehydrated. I'm going out, I'll be back and we'll call your loving husband later," he mentioned. "And don't even think about breaking out, my brother is standing guard and has orders to drug you if you leave this closet," he added, slamming the door again. Stella groaned and shut her eyes again.

Mac ungracefully plunked Aaron's carrier on Adam's work station as he rushed into the lab.

"What do you have for me Adam?" he asked anxiously, hope welling up in his chest. Today was a new day and they would find Stella.

"So it took me most of the night, but I've narrowed it down to one intersection, Franklin and Georgia. However, after going through all the boroughs to find that, I have yet to determine the situation with the building," Adam informed, almost ashamed of his work. Mac could see the exhaustion etched into the lab tech's face. He didn't have the heart to lay into him, since he had diligently worked through the night, no questions asked.

"You did good Adam, I'll get Danny and Lindsey to start working on the buildings," Mac praised. "There is a surprise for you in the break room," Mac added as he carried Aaron to his office. His curiosity piqued, Adam turned the corner towards the break room. He let out a happy sigh when he saw his fiancé playing with Maeli and Jake.

"Mel," he said softly. Her green eyes met his; she frowned slightly as she noticed how tired he looked. She set Jake on the floor next to Maeli and approached Adam. He wrapped her in a hug and gave her a soft kiss. "What are you doing here?" he wondered.

"Babysitting, no one was comfortable leaving their kids anywhere today, and I was glad to help," Mel shrugged.

"I see boss man still has a firm hand on Aaron," Adam mentioned, noticing Aaron was the only child missing from the faux daycare.

"Aaron needs his daddy right now, he's been passed back and forth a lot in the past day and he's out of sorts with his mom not around," Mel explained. Adam couldn't help but smile.

"You want kids really bad, don't you?" he asked softly. He watched the slight panic fill her expression.

"Uh, can we talk about that later?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah sure, are you ok?" he wondered. He knew he'd been up all night, but he didn't miss her change in demeanor. It concerned him.

"Of course, I'm fine, now you better get back to work, go find Stella," she encouraged with a smile. Adam nodded, trying to brush off the odd interaction like she did.

It only took about another hour for Danny and Lindsey to narrow down the building options. Two of the four corners of the intersection housed warehouses, and the third was a vacant lot so that helped tremendously. They then however faced the problem of which floor, third or above, and which specific apartment. That's where the little fact about a dark colored, full sized, sedan came into play. They cross referenced the DVM records with those of the tenants in the building. They narrowed it down to two tenants. One was a widowed woman in her early nineties, so they were just left with Jerrod Marx. Mind you, they still had no idea who that was and what he wanted from Mac, but they figured they'd save Stella and ask questions later.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

With the sirens blaring and the avalanche going about as fast as it would go, Mac rushed to the intersection. He threw the truck in park and led the group into the building. He hoped like hell they hadn't taken her somewhere. Flack had to physically stop Mac from kicking in the door. The knocked first and much to their surprise, the door opened. On the other side stood a man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties and looked like he was strung out of his mind.

"Jerrod Marx?" Flack checked.

"Hey, you know my name," he grinned. This guy had taken Stella?

"Where is she?" Mac demanded. Jerrod stared at him, completely glassy eyed. "Where. Is. She?" he ground out, shoving his gun in Jerrod's face. It was like the light bulb suddenly clicked on in his drug soaked brain.

"Oh the bitch, she's in the closet," he answered. Mac pushed the guy in Flack's direction and jetted towards the closet. He slowly opened the closet door. His heart clenched when he saw Stella in the fetal position on the ground. He knelt down and touched her shoulder. She jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Stel, it's me Mac," he spoke softly as to not startle her more.

"I need your knife," was the first thing she said, shifting somewhat and lifting her wrists. Mac fished around in his pocket until he found the little pocket knife and gingerly took her wrists. The right one looked agonizingly swollen, straining against the tape, he had no doubt it was broken. No sooner than he slit the tape, did she slide her good arm around him and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I knew you'd find me," she whispered.

"Now, let's get you out of here," he replied, really wanted to just hold her, but knowing she needed medical attention and they still needed to get the situation completely under control. He helped her to her feet and walked her into the living room. Stella looked around, mentally piecing together what the cops had accomplished so far. She noticed they only had one man in handcuffs, the one who took her from the house.

"There's another one Mac, he's coming back," Stella said, panicking. "It's his brother," she cried.

"Hey, I got you now, it's ok, he won't hurt you anymore," Mac assured, before informing Flack that there was another perp. He helped her out of the building and into the waiting avalanche where Lindsey drove them to the nearest hospital. Before he could protest, they swept Stella off x-ray and left Mac behind to fill out paper work. This made Mac very uneasy, being as he was wasn't sure if the other kidnapper had been caught yet. He scribbled the required answers and rushed off to find his wife. Before he could get to her, however, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Since the aforementioned kidnapper was still on the loose, he figured it best he take the call.

"Taylor," he replied shortly.

"Hey it's Flack, how's Stella?" the young detective wondered.

"I don't know! They took her away to examine her," Mac answered gruffly.

"Well that's too bad, but I was calling to tell you we have both Marx brothers in custody," Don mentioned, he heard the heavy sigh of relief through the phone.

"Can you have someone bring Aaron and a change of clothes for Stella," Mac asked.

"Sure thing, I'll send you a text to let you know who's coming," Flack said before ending the call. Mac continued his mission to find Stella.

"Mac Taylor?" a doctor asked.

"Yes," Mac stated.

"We just finished with Stella, she refused an SAE kit, but other than that, we took pictures, cast her wrist and cleaned up her other injuries," he informed. "She's asking for you," the doctor added with a nod. Mac quietly slipped into the hospital room. Stella slowly looked up at him. He quickly catalogued her injuries. She had a sizeable gash on her forehead, multiple bruises, and of course the broken wrist.

"Why did you refuse the SAE kit?" Mac wondered.

"Didn't need one, he didn't touch me like that," Stella shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Mac checked.

"Mac, trust me, I'm sure," Stella ground out. Mac took a step closer to her and took her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I just, I'm sorry," was the only response he could come up with. Stella knew he was apologizing for pushing the issue, but it seemed he was apologizing for much more. She finally allowed herself to relax into him.

"Where's Aaron?" she asked softly.

"He's with Mel at the lab, Flack is going to get him now," he informed. "He's just fine," Mac added, knowing that was her main concern. Stella pulled out of his arms and met his eyes. She smiled softly.

You slept last night," she noted, setting a hand on his cheek.

"For a couple hours at Jess and Don's, yes. I figured it was important to keep Aaron's schedule," he responded. Stella chuckled slightly.

"I would guess Jess reminded you of that," she grinned. Mac blushed deeply; he'd been caught in his little lie. "I know you_,_ sweetheart," Stella started, using an out of character term of endearment. "You wanted to be at that lab all night; there is nothing wrong with that. That doesn't make you any less of a good father. I would bet money that you didn't let Aaron out of your sight unless it was absolutely necessary and even then you only left him with the people you trust," she continued.

"I sent him with Jess and Don while the last of the evidence was coming together," Mac admitted.

"And that's fine, because you were at some point with him that night, you knew he needed you," Stella mentioned. They both knew they were really avoiding the situation at hand. Neither was quite ready to talk about what Stella had gone through in the last day and a half. Stella had yet to process it all and Mac knew she'd come to him when she was ready. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"I love you too," she replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

There was a soft knock at the door. Mac stepped towards the door and let the visitor in. It was Flack, with Aaron's carrier hooked on one elbow and a duffle bag tucked under the other. Mac smiled as Stella's eyes lit up. This was the longest she'd been away from Aaron since he was born.

"Hello Taylors, I come bearing gifts," Flack grinned. "What do you want first, clean clothes, or your baby?" he laughed.

"What do you think?" Stella said with a mock glare. Flack set Aaron on the bed next to her.

"When you're ready, Jess packed you a bag," he added, setting the bag in the chair next to the door. As Stella reached to take Aaron out of his carrier, the nurse reentered the room.

"Just checking to see if you all need anything," the nurse stated in a cheery tone. Her eyes settled on Stella, pulling the child into her arms. "Oh, uh, ma'am, I don't think you should…" she began to warn, stopping as soon as she caught Mac's hard glare. With a curt nod, she left the room.

"You scared her," Flack laughed.

"That was nothing, if that woman told Stella she couldn't hold Aaron, it was going to get ugly in here," Mac defended himself. Stella laughed lightly. "Just be careful Stel, I don't want you to hurt yourself," he let her know he was not going to limit her, but he didn't want her to overexert herself.

"So, Stella, did you want to give your statement today, or would you like to wait?" Flack asked, regretting the question as a somber mood settled around them.

"I want to do it now," she decided.

"Do you want me in or out?" Mac wondered, tucking one of her errant curls behind her ear. If she didn't want him to find out what happened this way, he would oblige her wishes. The look she gave him was answer enough. He smiled softly.

"Ok, I'll go finish things up at the lab, I'll leave Aaron with you," he planned, kissing her cheek.

"Jess is doing interrogation, if you want in on that," Flack mentioned, handing Mac the keys.

Angell stared at the scum sitting across the table from her. His grin left her feeling queasy.

"Jessica Angell," he let her name roll off his tongue. "You let your husband do your dirty work? I don't remember seeing you at the apartment," he mused.

"I was needed elsewhere," Angell replied shortly.

"I thought about taking you, ya know? And that sweet little Maeli, I could have done things to her," he said on a sinister laugh. Angell had to physically stop herself from going across the table and strangling the man.

"Nathan Marx," Mac's voice interrupted from the door. Angell stood and allowed Mac to sit at the table.

"Well hell, I didn't know I'd get to see you," Nathan grinned. "Did you even talk to your injured wife or are you just too focused on work?" he stuck to his button pressing routine. "No wonder it was so easy to get my hands on her," he laughed. "She never gave up on you though, I guess she knew what she was talking about since you did find her," Nathan shrugged.

"Are you done?" Mac asked.

"Not in the least," Nathan pressed on.

The rest of the interview didn't go much better until Mac finally broke him. Nathan and his brother were the sons of a victim Mac and his team couldn't save and he wanted to see if they would put forth more effort to save one of his own. Mac and Angell walked out of the interrogation room and into the main precinct. It wasn't hard to tell Angell was more than a little shaken by the vile things Nathan had said in the end of the interview. He set a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Jess, thanks for everything," he said softly. "Why don't we go get Maeli and head over to the hospital, then you guys can go home," he suggested. Angell nodded silently.

Mac felt a pang of guilt as they rode to the hospital. Angell was all but comatose while Maeli babbled on in the back seat. He was beginning to wonder what Marx had said to her before he got into the interrogation room.

"Mommy, why are we at the hospital?" Maeli wondered.

"We're just picking up Daddy, sweetheart," Jess responded after a moment.

"And I'm going home, thanks for helping with Aaron last night, Maeli. I really appreciate it," Mac smiled back at the little girl. A large smile covered her face. As Mac walked into the hospital room, he could tell the last hour or so had been rough. Stella was holding Aaron with a far off look and her face and Flack's expression was alternating between anger and sympathy. Mac took a deep breath.

"Everyone ready to go home?" he asked tentatively. Stella forced a smile and climbed down off the bed and locked Aaron in his carrier. "Maeli and Jess are outside," Mac added, returning Flack's keys. Somewhere in the process of things, Mac had no idea when or how; his truck was dropped off at the hospital.

"I guess I'll see you all in a few days," Flack mentioned.

"Thanks," Mac stated as the young detective ducked out.

"Take me home," Stella pleaded. Mac just nodded and led her out to the truck.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mac didn't ignore the fact that Stella wearily eyed her Mercedes as she slipped past it and into the house. He was glad crime scene clean up had already run though.

"I'm going to put Aaron down," he announced as he followed her in, carrying their son. Stella didn't say anything as she threw herself down on the couch. When he returned, she was no longer in the living room. The loud thud in the kitchen alerted him. He walked into to find her dropping cans of chicken noodle soup into a cardboard box. He assumed that's what she was fed by Nathan. It was unfortunate they had so many cans of it around the house. Stella went through gobs of it while she was pregnant with Aaron, so they had a lot on hand. "Stel, don't you think you need some rest?" he asked cautiously.

"I will in a minute, I have to finish this first," she replied adamantly. Mac knew better than to stop her, and since she wasn't endangering herself in anyway, he didn't. He just stood and watched. When she finished with the cans, she found the large roll of duct tape and tossed it in the box as well. "Get rid of that," she started, pointing to the box, knowing it was far too heavy for her to lift with a broken wrist. "I don't care what you do with it, I just never want to see it again," she finished. "I'm going to take a shower," she announced before walking off. Mac lifted the box off the counter and carried it out to his truck; he would make a final disposal of it later.

Mac made his way to the bedroom to check on his wife once more. To his surprise, she had yet to get into the shower.

"I need your help," she stated, holding up her broken wrist. The cast needed to be covered. Mac gathered what items he'd need and quickly wrapped up her arm so she could shower as she pleased. He was again surprised when she closed the door to the bathroom as she showered, something she hadn't done since they were dating. To be honest, Mac felt somewhat helpless. Before he could think anymore about it, the phone rang. He checked the ID and saw it was Elena. Mel must have called her. He sighed heavily and answered.

"Let me talk to Stella," Elena demanded.

"I'm sorry El, she's in the shower," Mac informed.

"How could you let this happen to her?" Mac could hear the tears in Elena's tone. His chest tightened further, he'd been asking himself the same thing for the past two days.

"I, I don't know," Mac admitted.

"oh, Mac," Elena crooned, realizing Mac was not to blame. It was just one of those situations that really sucked. "How is she?" she asked.

"She's here but she's not back yet," he provided.

"It's going to take her some time," Elena replied softly.

"I know," Mac stated. "She's got Aaron and me to help her through, so we'll get her back on her feet," he added optimistically.

"I know you will, tell her I love her, and have her call me when she'd feeling up to it," Elena responded.

"So you're not, uh, upset with me?" Mac wondered. Elena had never heard him so unsure of himself.

"No Mac, I could never be mad at you. This is not your fault, you need to understand that. You found Stella and like you said, you're going to get her through this," Elena consoled him. "I love you Mac, take care of our girl," she said in a lighter tone.

"Love you too, El, I'll have her call you," Mac ended the call.

When he walked back into the bedroom, Stella was brushing out her hair. She was wearing her Marines t-shirt and a pair of black sweat pants.

"Elena called, wants you to call her back when you're up to it," Mac disclosed. Stella nodded.

"Have you checked on Aaron?" she wondered.

"Not since we've been home," he answered. "Are you hungry? Do you want something for dinner?" he questioned. Stella stopped at the doorway and turned to look at him.

"Um, could we just order a pizza?" she suggested.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want," Mac shrugged.

"Then I'll have the usual," she said with a soft smile. It was little moments like that, that told Mac his Stella would be back.

When they finished dinner, Stella was more than ready for bed. Mac noticed her lids drooping as she finished feeding Aaron.

"What do you say we keep him in our room tonight?" Mac suggested, not wanting there to be a chance Stella could wake up alone if Aaron needed his attention.

"I'd like that," Stella grinned.

"Are you ready for bed?" he wondered.

"Absolutely," she informed, standing from the table. Mac reached over and took Aaron.

Once everyone was settled, Mac lay awkwardly on his side of the bed. He wasn't sure how close Stella wanted him. She had been a little skittish all night and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. He relaxed considerably when she moved closer to him and let her head rest on his chest.

"Will you stay home with me tomorrow?" she asked softly.

"Of course," he replied without a second thought. He had already planned on staying home the next day, but he felt much better knowing she wanted him there.

Something had woken him and he was trying to pin point just what it was. His immediate thought was Aaron. Yes, the child had mastered the sleeping through the night some months ago, but that didn't stop Mac's jump to conclusions. However, one glance in the direction of Aaron's play pen, disproved that theory. Aaron was sound asleep. It was Stella; she was having a bad dream. Unfortunately, he knew this would happen. He'd been married to Stella for just over two years and was best friends with her for many years before that so he'd been there through it all with her. He knew the nightmares would plague her nightly for awhile until they would eventually slow to only one every once in awhile. Hell, she still had nightmares about Frankie on occasion. His initial reaction was to reach out to her, but he couldn't find her in the dark and he didn't want to reach around and frighten her more. So he tried another approach.

"Stella," he called.

"Leave me alone," she replied gruffly. He knew she was still trapped in her dream.

"Stella, honey, it's Mac," he mentioned.

"Mac?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, sweetheart, wake up for me," he prodded.

"Mac, where are you?" the change in her tone, told him she'd pulled herself out of it.

"Just scoot towards my side of the bed, I'm right here," Mac provided. Stella moved about a foot in his direction and slipped easily into his arms.

"It was bad," she stated plainly.

"I know, but it's ok, it was just a dream. I'm right here," Mac said in a soothing tone as he slid his hand up and down her back until she once again fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Mac woke up the next morning, alone. Worry prickled his skin until he saw Stella standing in the corner holding Aaron. She was talking to him in a goofy tone and he was giggling like crazy. Mac couldn't help but smile. Aaron hadn't laughed like that since before Stella was taken. That little boy loved his mommy. Mac stood from the bed and walked over to his family. He thought about wrapping his arms around her from behind, but again, he didn't want to scare her. So he moved to stand beside her.

"Good morning," she greeted with a smile.

"Morning, how are you feeling?" he returned. Stella's expression changed to annoyed. She hiked Aaron up on her hip and turned to leave the room.

"I know what you want me to say, but I can't Mac, I'm numb, ok? I don't feel anything, it still hasn't hit me yet and until it does, I want to spend time with my son and husband and pretend like nothing bad happened, I don't want people asking me if I'm ok every second," she huffed as she walked into the nursery.

"Sorry," Mac mumbled, retreating to their bedroom. He sat on the bed and flopped backwards. He was at a complete loss of what to do with himself. He decided a run would do him some good. He got himself ready and went to check on Stella and Aaron. "I'm going for a run," he announced when he found them. Stella looked up and stared at him for a minute. "Is that ok?" he checked. He wasn't sure if she was ready to be alone again yet. The look on her face said she wasn't. He nodded and went tossed his shoes into the laundry room. Damn, he felt useless. "So," he began, having no idea where he was going with the statement.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," Stella mentioned. "I know you're concerned, I just know everyone will be calling to check on me and I need time to process all of this," she explained.

"I know Stel, I wasn't trying to get you to talk to me, I just wanted to know how you're feeling. You're wrist is broken and you probably have more bruises than I know about," Mac defended himself. Guilt settled in Stella's eyes. "I know, you didn't know," Mac said softly, letting her off the hook. He had no intentions of spending the day fighting with her. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?" he suggested. Stella smiled widely.

"Can I pick?" she wondered.

"Sure," Mac allowed, smiling back at her.

The day went on in a much similar manner. They lounged around watching movies and playing with Aaron. He was starting to develop his personality and could roll from his belly to his back. Around eight, Stella took the little boy to bed. When she didn't return quickly, Mac went to check on her. He found her sitting in the rocking chair, crying. Aaron was in his crib fast asleep. Mac knew it had hit her. He'd been expecting this all day.

"Stel," he whispered softly. She didn't look up. He pulled her out of the chair and to the master bedroom. They lay down on the bed and he just let her cry there in his arms. When she finally stopped she told him everything, Mac had to fight off his feelings of anger towards Nathan and remind himself he was just there for support.

"Why do these things keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?" she sobbed.

"This had nothing to do with you sweetheart, you did nothing wrong. This man was mad at me and he took it out on you and I am so sorry," Mac stated, kissing her temple.

"He told me you wouldn't save me, since you couldn't save Claire," Stella mentioned, regrettably so. Mac took a minute to tame the emotions that statement stirred up in him.

"Honey, that only heightened my need to find you. I had already lost one wife, I wasn't going to lose another, not if I could help it," Mac assured her. Stella moved out of his arms so he could look at him.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you too," Mac smiled. He could tell by her expression, that the major storm had passed. There would probably be more minor showers, but he would deal with those when they showed up. Stella leaned up a kissed him. He responded quickly, deepening the kiss. Stella fisted his shirt with her good hand and pulled him on top of her. Mac knew they should stop but he really didn't want to. His hand slid up under her t-shirt. Stella pulled away instantly. Mac sat up straight. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, his blue eyes full of concern.

"No, I just, no," Stella replied, getting up and moving towards the bathroom. Mac was only a step behind. She just opened up to him, he wasn't about to let her close up now. She tried to shut the door on him. He caught it with a strong arm.

"Stel, what's going on?" he asked, she was starting to cry again.

"I don't want you to see me until I heal, you might be disappointed," she admitted easier than Mac expected her to. Mac set a hand on her bruised cheek and caught her tears with his thumb.

"Stella, you could never disappoint me," he spoke honestly. He took a step closer and kissed her again. He slowly backed her up against the wall. She moaned into his mouth as he kissed her deeper. His hands once again roamed under her shirt. This time he removed it from her body. He bit back the gasp when he saw the bruises speckling her trim midsection. Stella read his expression.

"They're from the duct tape, they don't hurt that bad," she said just before pulling him into another kiss. His hands gently danced across her ribcage and came to settle on either side of her bare breasts. She moaned again. Mac decided this needed to be moved to the bedroom. He picked her up off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. When they got back to the bedroom, he softly dropped her on the bed. There, Stella pulled his shirt off. Again, part of Mac's brain told him they should stop, but the part that told him Stella needed this was much louder.

"Tell me if I hurt you," Mac panted between kisses, not wanting to further harm her injured body. Stella grunted in response.

The following morning, Mac woke up with Stella in his arms. The tension that filled the room the previous morning was no longer around. Things were beginning to get back to normal. Stella rolled over and placed a sweet kiss over his heart and the edge of his scar.

"Morning," she murmured against his skin.

"Morning, beautiful," he grinned.

"Are you staying home again today?" Stella wondered.

"I was planning on it," Mac chuckled.

"Good," Stella replied a large smile taking over her expression. He could tell she was slowly piecing herself back together and he knew he would be there to help her every step of the way.


End file.
